Korean film of the week "Fashion King - Movie" (2014)Directed through Oh Ki-hwanWith Joo Won, Choi Seol-ri, Ahn Jae-hyeon, Park Se-yeong, Kim Seong-oh, Lee Il-hwa,...SynopsisBased on a web-toon, a boy comes to a decision to change into the coolest guy around college to get the eye of the prettiest lady in his classroom.Release date in Korea : 2014/11/06

Hwang Jae Keun, the designer behind the ingenious masks at the masked making a song festival “King of Mask Singer,” these days printed his thoughts about his new line of work.

“I made up our minds to make masks because i presumed that garments were now not the sole solution,” he said. “After I introduced my brand, my attire failed to sell in addition I concept they would. Afterwards I stopped taking a look at clothing alone. I thought that there were such so much of things I may just design as well.”

Source: Hwang Jae Keun Facebook

Source: Hwang Jae Keun Facebook

The fashion designer gave the impression on the 2011 OnStyle display “Project Runway Korea Season 3.” “I began as a way designer yet after most effective making clothes for some time I made a decision to create a utterly unique signature that no other designer might copy,” he said. “Taking on masks used to be a surprising extension of my field.”

About “King of Mask Singer,” he said, “It’s a program that receives numerous love. i am hoping with the aim to change into a distinct mask designer. Design is anything I do because I in reality love it.”

Hwang Jae Keun has also seemed on more than a few MBC form methods reminiscent of “I are living Alone,” “Radio Star,” and “Quiz to switch the World.”

IU and Yoo In Na are like sisters, supporting each other on and off camera.

On June 26, fashion designer Go Tae Yong posted a picture on his Instagram with the caption, “Chef Lee Won Il’s Dear Bread along with IU and In Na. What are the four of us doing? Please take care of my refrigerator? This week is the finale for the ‘Producer’ special and ‘Fashion King!’”

In the image, IU can be seen visiting Yoo In Na on the set of “Fashion King.” The two look like sisters, both radiantly beautiful and seemingly close.

Designer Go Tae Yong and Yoo In Na have been working together on “Fashion King,” a Korea—China reality program in which top notch designers team up with celebrities to present a special collaboration.

Meanwhile, IU and Yoo In Na have worked together on “Heroes” and “You’re the Best, Lee Soon Shin.” Since then, they have become one of the most well-known pairs of best friends in the entertainment field.

Fashion King is the only film from Korea that was invited to the Okinawa International Movie Festival this year.

The film is based on the webtoon of the same name by cartoonist Keean84. Its story centers on Woo Ki Myung (played by Joo Won), a young man who has no plans or dreams until he takes up fashion design in order to impress his crush, Park Hye Jin (Park Se Young). However, hes so caught up on transforming into a Fashion King that he fails to notice that Kwak Eun Jin (f(x)s Sulli) has fallen for him and is similarly trying to take on a new look to get his attention. The film also stars actors Ahn Jae Hyun and Kim Sung Oh.

The Okinawa International Movie Festival has been held every year since 2009 with the theme of LaughPeace. This year, the festival is focusing on comedies and has invited films from over 16 countries in addition to Japan and Korea, including Russia, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

The film premiered in Korea last November. Following the festival, Fashion King will be released in Japan in theaters in early April.

Looks like SISTAR won"t be the only K-Pop group performing for royalty! It has been reported that T-ara will also be performing in Malaysia for the sultan"s coronation ceremony, which will take place from March 26 to March 29.

On March 26, T-ara was chosen to perform in honor of the newly enthroned Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. T-ara will be taking the stage on the last day of celebrations alongside world stars like Black Eyed Pea"s Taboo. They are expected to deliver an amazing performance for the finale with 10 of their hit songs.

One representative explained, "T-ara"s songs are receiving a lot of love locally and because of extremely high demand, they will be performing something like a mini-concert during the sultan"s coronation ceremony."

Sounds like T-ara is finding a lot of success and popularity in Malaysia! The girls will be departing for the country on March 28 to perform for the sultan and their Malaysian fans.

In other news, T-ara has also just concluded filming for the opening stage of SBS funE"s "Fashion King" season 3. A broadcast representative told "Sports Today," "T-ara filmed for a special episode of "Fashion King." We wrapped up filming on the 25th. The models put on the show in tune with T-ara"s song."

On March 9th, talent management company Playton announced, “We have signed a contract with the former-Jewelry member Seo In Young.” They further announced that she will be resuming her activities as an MC for SBS‘s fashion survival show “Fashion King – The Secret Box.”

Seo In Young will be co-MCing the upcoming competition show with Super Junior-M‘s Zhoumi. Singer and entertainer Kim Jong Kook, actress Yoo In Na, CNBLUE‘s Lee Jung Shin, and stylist Jung Yoon Gi will also be on the show.

Seo In Young debuted as a member of Jewelry in 2002. She released her first solo album in 2007.

Seo In Young’s upcoming program “Fashion King – The Secret Box” will air on SBS in late April.

Kim Joong Kook and Yoo In Na have been selected as new host for the third season of SBS’ fashion competition show "Fashion King."

According to industry insiders, the hosts recently confirmed their appearance on the show, and have already participated in the first shoot which was held today on March 5.

The experienced MCs will be joined by a number of star contestants, who have yet to be revealed to the public. This season, SBS has reportedly gone for a completely new concept, and there will be no weekly eliminations.

In the two previous seasons, “Fashion King” paired up famous fashionistas with talented designers, and the teams were given weekly missions to produce creative and fashionable garments for a fashion show.

Fashion King: What a Commercial Film Misses Written by Thuy On November 25, 2014 Being the first film ever to be adapted from a Naver webtoon, and not to mention a majorly successful series that hit a record of 4 million views, Fashion King cannot avoid being subjected to heavy expectations from the comics fans.

For the original webtoon version of this story, the author Kian84 is said to have captured [Korean] teen-culture with wit and satire with a matching sketchy drawing style. The characters may appear in over-the-top appearances and behaviors, but they are also realistic enough so that teenagers can relate to. Missing these appeals, the film is considered incapable of doing justice to Kian84s work.

In all honestly, the product is not a bad representation of Kian84s original work, as some reviewers have pointed out. The cause for a mixed reception of this film perhaps has more to do with fundamental differences between two modes of representation than with how bad of a director and writer Oh Ki-hwan and Yoon In-wan have been.

For those who have not read the original series, Fashion King is an acceptable choice for a leisure activity over the weekend. If you strictly watch the film with only a mindset of seeking entertainment and do not expect too much, then this 114-minute product is quite enjoyable indeed.

The film does not have an outstanding plot, but at least the story line makes sense with no big illogical absurdities. High school loser Woo Ki-myung (Joo Won) is a usual target for bullying in his class. However, one day he discovers the breath-taking and powerful realm of fashion, where he learns to become someone with 간지 (kanji)awesomeness, or coolness. Developing a crush on the prettiest girl in school, he enters into a competition with the prince-like Kim Won-ho (Ahn Jae-hyun). He then wins the Fashion King title, finds true love, and attains true confidence.

This is a very cliche narrative, but a profound plot is not the focus of director Oh. In fact, for Fashion King, the story should be simple enough so that the cast, the humor and the visual effects can have more room to shine.

Joo Won, as always, proves his top-class acting skill. Fashion King tells a story about a boy growing into a man. In the beginning of Woo Ki-myungs adventure, he is such a pitiful kid. Joo Wons acting is definitely convincing when rendering this feeble nerdy kid who suffers from fellow classmates daily attacks and contempt. Everything about him reveals an unhappy, but accepting attitude for someone whose mere wish is to pass a day without troubles (which of course hardly realizes).

Later on, when Ki-myung embarks on the path of kanji, we see a teen boy chasing after his goal wholeheartedly with that innocent dedication youngsters tend to embrace. It is also hilarious watching a man-in-the-making Joo Won doing those weird exercises under the supervision of his quirky mentorunderground fashion designer Nam Ki-jong (Kim Sung-oh). Toward the end of the film, our male protagonist struggles with his past, but he chooses to not run away and finally succeeds in the last catwalk challenge. Besides the pure hotness by the name of Joo Won, the audience can clearly see how that awkward boy back then has matured through his long certain strides on the runway.

Over the course of this transformation, there are enough transitions so that audience do not feel like they are watching three different characters. However, this persistent portrayal of Woo Ki-myung is at the same time a downside. Until the end, Joo Won stays as a goody-two-shoe guy with no flaw in his character. He loves his mom, he is loyal to his friends, and being a victim himself once he never tolerates bullying. He does not harbor any negative characteristics. Somebody may find this one-dimensional figure pretty boring.

For the more amateur role-takers, Sulli and Ahn Jae-hyun are not too bad themselves. Sulli carries out quite nicely the task of being a cute lively female side-kick. Once again Korean entertainment products just have to stick with the stereotype that a nerdy girl is destined to be ugly (and messy). Nonetheless, at least Sulli looks adorable with that girl-next-door, geeky appearance. For Ahn Jae-hyun, it would be way too harsh to call his acting a failure. For his character Won-ho, Ahn fulfills pretty much all the basic features: acting cool, being an arrogant bastard, and being a model.

Despite a good cast and an easy-to-follow plot, one criticism for the film is that it tries to jam in way too many things. It seems to be making a social statement about high school bullying at first. Then itis full-on comical in the middle. Toward the end, it turns into a heartbreaking drama when the director suddenly includes a very emotional scene of Woo Ki-myungs mother crying with realistic hand-held camera shots. Too many elements like this can a bit overwhelming.

Now onto the reasons why netizens are so not satisfied with the cinema version. The very factor to be considered here is the target audience of each genre. Webtoons are specifically aimed at young netizens, who would just read on their smartphone instead of properly enjoying every page in front of a larger desktop or TV screen. Each chapter in the series will be consumed within perhaps 10 minutes of these peoples daily commute. Meanwhile. films like Fashion King strive for a larger audience base not only within Korean society, but also globally. Instead of trying to generate something hyper-artistic or meaningful, it is a commercial film at best.

A characteristic of webtoons, as we have discussed here on Seoulbeats once, is that series belong to this genre are so invested in character development that outer beauty is rendered needless. Unlike manga, glamorous and polished drawing is really not what webtoons are about. It tends to minimize the visual representations and focuses more on developing the psychological depth of the character. Webtoons like Fashion King can even have no clear plot line that connects the whole series, it can just consist of small little stories that together create a very certain atmosphere.

A commercial cinema work can hardly maintain such qualities. There has to be a plot, there has to be the visuals, and there has to be the music. In short, the film needs aesthetic appeals to please the general audience.

In a sense, director Oh has sacrified the characters depth to emphasize more on the surface representation. It is understandble if the aspect where the film stays the most loyal to the fans is the construction of the characters physical appearace. A weird-looking cast is easy as well as it is catchy. In this aspect, the film is so accurate to the point that the characters seem to be walking into real life straight out of the webtoon, with all the details about their ridiculous or awesome styles.

On the other hand, the cinema adaptation has even outdone the original when it comes to impressive fashion showcasing. Accompanied by enticing background music, lighting, runway stages, the beautiful setting of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and above all Joo Won and Ahn Jae-hyuns very intersting outfits, Fashion King is indeed a satisfactory showtime.

The biggest lost for the film compared to the webtoon is perhaps the very sensation every Korean boy can understand and relate to. Scene by scene, the original work has deftly captured a generations emotions and lifestyle through various pop culture and sub-culture references and jargon. For example the one scene about Ki-myung that every kid would be able to immediately tell it is about the real-life Jang Geun-seok, or designer Nam is a direct mentioning of Bae Jung-Nam a well-known underground fashionista among teenagers and an Internet celebrity. All in all, this series resembles a scrapbook that puts together pieces about the life of any average Korean teenage boy in the 2000s.

For many Korean netizens, such a sense of familiarity is no longer present in the film. In order to reach out for a larger group of audience, it is inevitable for the director to compromise elements that only teenagers would understand and go for something more common. Even though the film itself is not a bad production, it is missing out perhaps the most important element that creates this series fame from the first placea connection, a sympathy, and a voice that represents so well how young Koreans of the early 21st century have lived their everyday life.

(Source: Screendaily.com, The Fact, Kormore, Tistory, Hankyung, Fashion King (webtoon), Fashion King Official Website (film). Images from 11st, Fashion King Naver Comic, and Next Entertainment World)

Finally, trailer for the forthcoming film “Fashion King” has been unveiled. This trailer focuses on the most outstanding scenes of the film. This film features Joo Won, Sulli, Ahn Jae Hyun, Park Se Young, and Kim Sung Oh.

Through the full trailer released, viewers can get a better picture of the story of the film adaptation of the controversial webtoon of the same name that not only had an explosive number of page views, but also brought to existence many parodies and new words. Its characters each introduced a new type of personality in the genre, each with their own individual charms.

Follow the story of Woo Ki Myung (Joo Won), a bullied high school student who opens his eyes to the world of fashion to win the attention of his crush, Park Hye Jin (Park Se Young). See how he will compete against his rival Kim Won Ho (Ahn Jae Hyun) and transform to become their school’s “Fashion King” under the guidance of his mentor (Kim Sung Oh) in this trailer.

“Fashion King” hits the theaters on November.

Are you getting more excited for this movie?

See also:New Character Posters of Joo Won and Sulli for “Fashion King” ReleasedJoo Won and Sulli’s New Film, “Fashion King,” Reveals First Teaser Along with Release Date